Siemens subsidiary fined over Russian bribes

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BERLIN (AP) - Swiss prosecutors say a subsidiary of Germany's Siemens AG has acknowledged it failed to prevent bribes being paid to a Russian gas company and agreed to pay nearly $11 million in fines.

Swiss federal prosecutors said Tuesday that Sweden-based Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery made payments between 2004 and 2006 to "senior executives of the Russian state-owned" gas production company into their Swiss bank accounts.

Gazprom wasn't identified by name, but is Russia's only state gas company.

In return, they say, the company received contracts to supply gas turbines for the construction of the Yamal gas pipeline.

Guilty of "organizational offenses," the company will pay a $136,000 fine as a donation to the Red Cross and $10.6 million to Switzerland in compensation for unlawful profits. Following the settlement, prosecutors closed the investigation.